Carsen Edwards didn't do much in a spot-start on Sunday, hitting 1-of-6 shots for two points, one rebound and one steal over 17 minutes.
Edwards was coming off a 16-point performance and he got the start ahead of Daniel Theis today, but he was nearly invisible through the first half of action, recording just one steal and nothing else while bricking his only two shot attempts. His only make came during the third quarter, and he finished with a team-worst plus/minus rating of minus-21. We’d expect him to return to the bench and possibly DNP-CD status on Tuesday in Utah.
Chris Paul scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting (3-of-3 FT) Sunday, to go with three rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and one turnover in 33 minutes.
CP3 didn’t get any of his 3-pointers to fall in this one, finishing 0-of-5 from distance, which put an end to a 10-game streak with at least one triple. However, he did an incredible job of making things miserable for Kemba Walker on the other end of the floor, holding him to just 4-of-20 shooting, and he’s a big reason why Phoenix’s backcourt has ranked in the top-5 in terms of defensive efficiency this season. The Suns have now won five of their past six games, and they’ll look to push that number to seven on Monday with a matchup vs. the Cavs.
Cameron Johnson went 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from the stripe for 17 points in 27 minutes off the bench on Sunday.
Johnson added four triples, five boards, one assist and one turnover while he was out there, and he was locked in from distance, with three of his four trey-bombs coming within his first nine minutes of play. He's not the most exciting guy to roster, but he has been putting up steady late-round value on the season behind averages of 11.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 triples and just 0.8 turnovers per game on 44.6% shooting from the field and 88.5% from the line.
Gordon Hayward had a solid game vs the Wizards on Sunday, finishing with 25 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 30 minutes.
Hayward made 8-of-16 field goals, 7-of-10 free throws and two 3-pointers as the Hornets blew out the Wizards 119-97. It was his second straight game with 25+ and his fourth game with at least 22 points over the last five. The only bad thing we can say about Hayward is he's failed to block a shot since Jan. 30 at which point he had swatted at least one shot in five straight. But he's still putting up top-25 numbers in 9-cat this year.
Bradley Beal dropped 31 points in three quarters on Sunday, adding six rebounds and three 3-pointers in a 119-97 loss to Charlotte.
"Every human being is due for a bad day," Beal said after scoring just seven points on 1-for-14 shooting on Friday night. He quickly put that bad performance behind him, hitting 11-of-22 shots, three 3-pointers and all six of his free throws in three frames. He could've topped 40 points but he didn't play in the fourth because the Wizards were getting blown out. He might want to reconsider his desire to stay in D.C.
Kelly Olynyk went 6-of-13 from the field and 1-of-1 from the line for 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two 3-pointers and one steal across 27 turnover-less minutes on Sunday.
With Olynyk’s two treys tonight, he extended his streak of games with multiple triples to seven, which represents a new career-high for Olynyk. Over that seven-game stretch, Olynyk has put in averages of 11.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 treys and just 0.9 turnovers a night on 45.9% shooting, which has him hovering around top-100 value in 9-cat leagues, so give him a look if those numbers are appealing.
Davis Bertans couldn't get it going on Sunday vs the Hornets, finishing with just six points, an assist and a steal in 18 minutes.
Bertans started the second half as Scoot Brooks tried to inject some confidence into his struggling shooter, but it didn't do much, as he shot just 2-of-7 with all his attempts coming from beyond the arc. “We need him to make shots. He hasn’t made shots since he’s been back,” Brooks recently said of Bertans. “One thing I’m not going to do is give up on him. I’m not going to shut it down. I’m going to keep giving him confidence.” We'll see if the stretch big can turn things around on Monday vs the Bulls.
Immanuel Quickley went 1-of-4 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the stripe for five points, three rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes off the bench on Sunday.
Quickley was again the ninth man in the rotation today, going scoreless through the first half of action with just two shot attempts, and he didn’t get his first bucket until the fourth quarter. The Knicks are reportedly on the verge of acquiring one of Tom Thibodeau’s favorite players in Derrick Rose, and once Rose arrives in New York, that’ll be the death knell of IQ’s fantasy potential. The same could be said for Alec Burks, who finished today's game with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, three triples and two turnovers in 29 minutes off the bench.
Austin Rivers saw 17 minutes off the bench on Sunday and finished with six points, two rebounds and three assists in a loss to the Heat.
Through the first four games in February, Rivers has only been averaging minutes in the teens, which isn’t enough floor time for him to make a meaningful difference in fantasy hoops. He’s currently only rostered in 4% of Yahoo! Leagues, but that number still feels a bit too high.
Reggie Bullock hit 7-of-17 shots for 21 points, three rebounds, two assists, seven triples, four steals and two turnovers across 31 minutes in Sunday's loss to Miami.
Bullock got off to a quick start today, drilling four triples in his first seven minutes of play, and he recorded two steals before the conclusion of the first quarter. It was a solid game for him, but we’ll need to see this again before recommending him as an add in most leagues, as he tends to be extremely inconsistent.
Elfrid Payton was held to seven points on 3-of-12 shooting (1-of-2 FT) Sunday, to go with two rebounds, five assists, two steals and two turnovers across 31 minutes in a loss to the Heat.
It’ll be interesting to see if Payton can retain his spot in the starting lineup once Derrick Rose arrives, but even if he does, his minutes will likely see a significant dip moving forward. Even while averaging 28 minutes as a starter for the Knicks this season, Payton has ranked well outside the top-250, so making a premature cut before Rose is incorporated into the rotation makes sense.
Russell Westbrook narrowly missed a triple-double on Sunday, recording 12 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks.
Despite the solid stat line, Russ had a pretty so-so performance. He went 4-of-9 from the floor with no threes, shot 4-of-8 at the line and also had a game-high five turnovers. He hasn't scored 20 points since his big 41-point outburst vs the Nets last Sunday and has made just one 3-pointer in three games since.
Making his third start of the season on Sunday, Joe Ingles notched seven points, nine rebounds, three assists and one 3-pointer in 32 minutes of action vs. Indiana.
Mike Conley is out with a right hamstring injury and Utah has been vague about his timetable. It's described as "tightness" but coach Quin Snyder said Conley's return "is going to be dependent on the progress he makes," which doesn't tell us much. Until he's cleared, Ingles gets a boost with more minutes as a starter and more time on-ball, although tonight it was Donovan Mitchell serving as lead playmaker. Ingles won't hurt your fantasy teams in any category, and gets sufficient 3-pointers and dimes to find a spot on most rosters in Conley's absence.
Juwan Morgan (illness; non-COVID) did not play vs. the Pacers on Sunday.
Morgan isn't in Utah's rotation anyway, but he was listed 'out' in the official injury report. He'll provide some emergency depth if he's recovered in time for Tuesday's game vs. Boston.
Jordan Clarkson scored 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting Sunday, going 3-of-10 from deep with five rebounds, one assist and two turnovers in 30 minutes.
The Jazz are fresh off an NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a single month, sinking 285 triples in January alone. Utah's sixth man is a big part of the trend, with Clarkson hitting a career-high 3.1 triples on 39.2% shooting from deep. He's also hitting career-high numbers in scoring (17.6 points per game) and rebounds (4.3), and his steals (0.9) are the highest since 2016-17 with the Lakers. It's added up to strong mid-round value and the absence of Mike Conley (hamstring) could bump him to another level in the short-term. The only thing holding Clarkson back so far has been modest playing time, at 25.2 minutes per game.
Bojan Bogdanovic finished Sunday's game with 18 points (5-of-14 FGs, 5-of-5 FTs), three 3-pointers, five rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes.
Utah made a franchise-record 26 three-pointers on Friday, taking a ridiculous 50 attempts from beyond the arc, including a 7-of-10 mark from Bogdanovic. "Everything starts from our defense," he said. "If we guard, we are able to run and shoot those transition threes." The defense was suffocating today, limiting Indiana to 95 points on 39.8% shooting, enabling the Jazz to earn a road win despite making "only" 13 shots from deep. Bogdanovic should continue to pile up points and triples in three home games this week vs. Boston (Tuesday), Milwaukee (Friday) and Miami (Saturday).
Donovan Mitchell fell one rebound shy of a triple-double on Sunday, scoring 27 points with a career-high-tying 11 assists and nine rebounds in 38 minutes.
The Jazz look unstoppable with 15 wins in their past 16 games. Mitchell has been their engine during the streak, and they won a tough road game in Indiana tonight despite the absence of Mike Conley (hamstring tightness). The only things preventing Spida from reaching the upper echelons of fantasy value are high turnovers (3.0 per game), damaging field goal percentages (43.6%) and low defensive stats (0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks). All of those were in effect today with five turnovers, 9-of-25 shooting and one steal, though most fantasy managers will be satisfied as long as he's healthy and hovering around 22/4/4 averages.
Domantas Sabonis shot 7-of-19 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line on Sunday, scoring 20 points with two 3-pointers, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
Sabonis fouled out for the third time this season, and it's the second time all season that he's shot below 50% in consecutive games. He should be able to end that streak on Wednesday vs. a Nets team that's giving up the second-most points in the paint this season (51.6 per game, behind only Sacramento). His defensive numbers today also deserve some attention, as more steals (0.8) and especially blocks (0.3) could catapult him into early-round value regardless of fantasy format.
Doug McDermott led Indiana's reserves with 18 points on Sunday, shooting 8-of-14 from the field with six rebounds, two assists and one steal in 32 minutes.
Although he's coming off the bench, McDermott is averaging 28.0 minutes per game in January. That's compared to 22.7 minutes for starter Jeremy Lamb, who finished this game with 10 points, zero rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. McDermott is a reliable source of points, 3-pointers and even rebounds (6.0 per game this month), but his fantasy value is limited by a near-total lack of assists and defensive stats.
OG Anunoby (left calf strain) will not play vs. the Grizzlies on Monday.
No surprise here with Toronto playing it safe, but there is some good news. Head coach Nick Nurse said Anunoby could return during the Raptors' current road trip, so maybe we'll see him Wednesday in an ideal matchup vs. the Wizards.